The drug uses the fact that mycobacteria distress under special conditions.

Understanding stress and methods to relieve stress in microbes could eventually lead to effective drugs against mycobacteria — a family of bacteria that cause a range of infections and diseases including tuberculosis. Among the key proteins in action during times of stress is ‘Rel’ protein. Having worked on the protein for over 15 years, researchers have identified a novel site in the Rel protein that binds to its product pppGpp, so it has tremendous value for anti-tuberculosis therapy.